THERE’S loving your city and there’s loving your city. And Fine Gael councillor Olivia O’Sullivan is certainly a woman who has a big passion for her hometown.
So much so that she couldn’t hold back her reservation at the mere thought of negative headlines from Council meetings by the local press.
The City North woman was so eager to put the best foot forward that she reminded the pesky media types that councillors really are a great bunch of lads and lassies, and maybe we should keep that in mind from time to time?
It appears the fledgling Fine Gael spin doctor would like more happy-clappy stories coming out from Council meetings. Keep the recovery going, indeed!
“I get so worried at times that the media are present at these meetings, about the headlines that go out about the things we say, and it doesn’t sit well with me,” she confessed at last week’s Metropolitan District meeting.
In the interest of “counterbalance”, O’Sullivan, a former Postie herself, reminded local hacks how hard she and her Council colleagues work.
“Remember that we work for our city, and we look for the problems, and we look for the solutions. So please remember that when you are reporting,” the City North woman beseeched.
Now we’re getting to it. Could we not try and make them look good? I have you now.
Her dressing down of the press wasn’t on my Council bingo card considering councillors had just been told negotiations were at an advanced stage for a leading fashion brand to take up as anchor tenant in the former Debenhams store in the city.
Perhaps we need more Fine Gael press officers and fewer leading fashion brands to keep the good news flowing?
In fairness, the story in question down in Merchant’s Quay couldn’t have been anything but good news for Limerick, and well done to everyone involved.
Independent councillor Maria Donoghue, during the course of the Metropolitan District meeting, called on the owners of the former Debenhams building to be encouraged to expedite development and reuse of the city centre site.
Talking about making proper use of your speaking time. Fair play, Maria.
But what set Cllr O’Sullivan off at all, you ask? Well, some home truths were told about our beloved city.
Cllr Donoghue, who felt the local authority should be more assertive in putting the skates on under developers, also took the view that they were missing a trick.
“I’m thinking specifically of the UL site at the former Dunnes Stores, and the building across from Brown Thomas – all commercial buildings which also have a residential component attached to them, if we were to sign them as such … We cannot let these remain vacant,” Cllr Donoghue insisted.
Social Democrats councillor Elisa O’Donovan supported the motion and went one further in suggesting that Limerick City was in the middle of a derelict and vacant property crisis.
“Walking through Limerick City at the moment and seeing all the derelict and vacant properties is quite shocking and stark,” she opined.
Her party colleague Shane Hickey-O’Mara said that he felt embarrassed welcoming people to Limerick.
But there was good news, a light at the end of the city centre’s tunnel. Progress on the Debenhams site was the big story of the day, and the Limerick media managed to pick up on it without turning rabid.
